May Every Year Bring Prosperity

[Completed Novel, Full Text Undergoing Thorough Editing and Proofreading, Sorry for Bumping It Up So Often]

The blurb for my new novel, "Beyond the Moonlit Branches," is below. Visit my author page and click to bookmark it!

"May you be blessed with peace and prosperity year after year, and may we never let each other down."

---- Blurb for This Novel ----

Xie Hening was born into the Xie clan, the foremost of the Four Great Houses. Her father was the illustrious General of Might and Glory, the eldest son born of a concubine to the Marquis of Yongning.

At thirteen, she entered the palace to serve as a companion to a princess. By a twist of fate, she saved Li Changye, the unfavored Third Prince. Life in the palace was dull and hard to endure, so a few equally lonely children clung to one another and found warmth in each other's company.

The court's fortunes shifted. A series of events, including the collapse of the Palace of Longevity and the Crown Prince's demotion, shattered their once peaceful lives. Li Changye was soon drawn into the struggle for power among the princes.

For four years, he fought his way through the succession struggle, navigating rises and falls as if treading on thin ice. Only Xie Hening remained at his side, never abandoning him.

But after Li Changye successfully took up residence in the Eastern Palace, becoming The Outcast, second only to one and above countless others, he discovered that Xie Hening, who had always been by his side, had suddenly vanished without a trace.

Three years later, the Four Great Houses fell into decline. To preserve its wealth and status, the Xie family sent their daughter into the palace once more. On the night the new consort entered, Li Changye looked with scorn at the familiar face kneeling before him and said, "Have you returned as a pawn of the Xie family, now that they've reached a dead end?"

&

In the many years that followed, Li Changye ruled the realm. Standing alone at the summit, he felt only cold. He still remembered how, when he had been crushed into the dust and left to fend for himself, a little girl had come over with a bowl of hot soup and asked him in a childish voice, "Are you cold?"

He was cold...

Fortunately, after all their twists and turns, she eventually came back to his side.

"The wind keeps its promises, and the flowers bloom on time. May you be blessed with peace and prosperity year after year, and may we never let each other down."

Reader's Guide:

1. The romance develops slowly in the early chapters, with an emphasis on personal growth. No artificial sugary romance.

2. The heroine had her reasons for leaving, and the misunderstandings will be cleared up later.

3. The setting is entirely fictional, with institutions loosely modeled on the Ming Dynasty. There are many author-created details, so readers who insist on historical accuracy may wish to pass.

4. Comment where you read the novel. Frequent revisions may differ from pirated copies, and I take no responsibility for that. No need to tell me if you drop the novel.

---- Blurb for the Currently Serializing Historical Romance ----

---- Blurb for the Upcoming Historical Romance ----

"Beyond the Moonlit Branches"

[Radiant Noblewoman from a Great House x Handsome Young General]

Blurb:

Xu Mingshu was beautiful and the only daughter in her family. From the day she was born, she was the cherished jewel in the palms of her elders.

At sixteen, at the behest of her aunt, Consort Chen, she married her aunt's adopted son, the Seventh Prince Xiao Yan, as the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Jing'an. She became his principal consort.

Xiao Yan was steady and reserved, as handsome as a jade tree, and treated her exceptionally well. She had thought that the two of them would share a loving marriage and treat each other with respect.

But on their wedding night, Xiao Yan went to his concubine's room, making her a laughingstock throughout the palace.

Later, after the Xu family was demoted and she was confined to the palace as a crown princess in name only, she finally understood that Xiao Yan's affection had been false, and that he had only pretended out of helpless necessity, forced to endure it all.

On the day Xiao Yan ascended the throne, Xu Mingshu dressed in plain white and took her own life in the palace.

No one knew that Deng Yanchen, the young general who had returned victorious after fighting on the blood-soaked battlefield in Yanzhou for three days and nights, suddenly fell from his horse without warning when he heard the news. He lay on the ground, his heart aching so badly he could not breathe.

When Xu Mingshu opened her eyes again, she had returned to the New Year's Eve when she was fourteen.

Firecrackers sounded outside. Following the noise, she went out and saw a handsome young man standing tall at the end of the corridor, clad in armor.

Xu Mingshu's eyes filled with tears. Just as she had in her previous life, she asked him, "Xiao Dengzi, where's my New Year's gift?"

The young man smiled warmly and held out his hand. A moon-shaped hairpin lay quietly in his palm. "Here it is."

&

Deng Yanchen was a gifted young man who mastered the art of war at an early age and rose to become deputy general of the Black Armor Army.

Later, when the Marquis of Jing'an was demoted on trumped-up charges, Deng Yanchen took over the Black Armor Army from the old marquis. From then on, he fought in bloody battles to defend against foreign enemies, never resting for a single day.

He wanted to exchange his military achievements with the emperor for one person, but that person never lived to see him return...

Theme: The world is full of uncertainties, so cherish the present.